Valeant earnings per share could take hit in 2013 from herpes ointment generic

MONTREAL — The Food and Drug Administration approval this week of a generic genital herpes ointment made by Mylan could make a slight dent in the stock price of the company that makes the branded version.

Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said that while it expected Mylan to receive approval for a generic version of Zovirax (acyclovir) ointment, it did not include the approval in its original budget expectations and thus expected its earnings per share in fiscal year 2013 to be reduced by 30 to 40 cents.

"But there are other actions, such as several product acquisitions, the replacing of our term loan debt and continued operational performance that have occurred since we provided financial guidance in January, and we believe that these activities will mitigate the impact of the generalization of Zovirax ointment," Valeant chairman and CEO J. Michael Pearson said. "We continue to expect once again to deliver outstanding performance in 2013, and we will provide an update to our 2013 guidance on our first quarter financial results conference call in May."

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